The Houmas
| The Houmas | |||
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| National Register of Historic Places | |||
 The main building (photo from 2011) |
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| location | Burnside , Louisiana , United States | ||
| Coordinates | 30 ° 8 ′ 28 ″ N , 90 ° 56 ′ 3 ″ W | ||
| surface | 4000 hectares | ||
| Built | 1840 | ||
| Architectural style | Greek Revival | ||
| NRHP number | 80001694 | ||
| The NRHP added | September 27, 1980 | ||
The Houmas , also known as Burnside Plantation and Houmas House Plantation and Gardens , is a former plantation in Burnside , Louisiana . The current main building was built in 1840, while the origins of the plantation date back to the late 18th century. The property now houses a museum and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980 . The main building became famous as a location for numerous films and television series, most notably the lullaby for a corpse from 1964.
history
The Houmas has its origins in 1774, when Alexander Latil and Maurice Conway expropriated the Houma , who lived on the eastern side of the Mississippi River , which gave the area its later name. Latil had a mansion built in the French colonial style around 1775 and had sugar cane grown on the site .
Through the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, The Houmas became the property of the US government. Shortly afterwards it was bought by the politician Daniel Clark , who expanded the area and had sugar mills built there. Became famous for The Houmas 1807 as the scene of a duel between Clark and William CC Claiborne , was injured in the Claiborne by a gunshot wound to the leg.
In 1811 the land and all slaves became the property of the former General Wade Hampton I , who was one of the richest landowners and largest slave owners in the southern United States. Hampton continued to expand the plantation and mansion for himself and his wife in the years that followed. In 1825, Hampton's son-in-law took over The Houmas and had today's main building built there in 1840.
In 1857, Belfast-born John Burnside bought the entire property, including the slaves. He expanded The Houmas in the following years from 4,000 to 4,900 hectares and had four more sugar mills built. With more than 800 slaves, The Houmas was now one of the largest plantations in Louisiana.
During the Civil War , a seizure of the property to house General Benjamin Franklin Butler was considered. However, as diplomatic conflicts with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland were feared (Burnside was still a British citizen), the plantation remained privately owned.
After Burnside's death in 1881, his friend Oliver Beirne inherited The Houmas . This in turn bequeathed it to his son-in-law William Porcher Miles . After Miles died in 1899, the site began to deteriorate. Parts of the property were sold, returning it to its original area of 4,000 hectares. The Mississippi flood in 1927 further damaged the buildings on The Houmas .
After many years of vacancy, the former plantation became the property of George B. Crozat, who renovated the buildings and the surrounding gardens. Parts of the mansion's furnishings were replaced in order to create a federal style in the interior . The Houmas is still privately owned and can be visited as a museum. It also houses two restaurants and can be rented for private events like weddings. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places as particularly worthy of protection since 1980. The Houmas is also nicknamed the Crown jewel of Louisiana's river road .
description
The focus of today's property is the two-and-a-half-story main building, which was built in 1840 in the Federal style. A characteristic of this building are the columns erected on three sides in a Doric order . The site also includes a garçonnière and the former main building, which is made of bricks. It is a matter of dispute whether this building dates back to when the plantation was founded by Alexander Latil or whether it was first built by General Wade Hampton. On The Houmas there are several other brick annexes from different eras. This includes one of the former sugar mills. There is also a large park with a pond on the site.
Entrance area of the main building
Parts of the extensive grounds of The Houmas
Former sugar mill
Parts of the park with a pond
Garçonnière
Room in the main building used by Bette Davis while filming Lullaby for a Corpse
As a location
The Houmas achieved international fame - above all the main building - as the location for several film and television productions. The building was most prominently seen in the 1964 psychological thriller Lullaby for a Corpse , which was filmed exclusively on The Houmas . The actors were also housed in the main building.
Other films that were shot in whole or in part on The Houmas include Mandingo , Fletch - The Jack of all trades , Love, Wedding, Marriage - A plan to fall in love with and, most recently, 2018 Green Book - A special friendship . Individual episodes of the television series All My Children , K-Ville , parts of the television film The Revenge of the Bridesmaids and a large number of commercials were also made on the property.
Web links
- Official website (English)
- History of the property on houmashouse.com
- The Houmas on the National Park Service website
Individual evidence
- ^ History. In: Houmas House. Retrieved December 14, 2018 .
- ↑ The Houmas. In: National Park Service US Department of the Interior. Retrieved December 14, 2018 .
- ↑ Houmas House Plantation and Gardens. In: New Orleans Online. Retrieved December 14, 2018 .
- ↑ Lauren Bassart: Taking a Tour of the Houmas House Plantation and Gardens. In: The Constant Rambler. Retrieved December 14, 2018 .
- ^ Movies Filmed Here. In: Houmas House. Retrieved December 14, 2018 .